Darkness Overtaken
by Matarra
Summary: Dark Mist kidnaps Astral and brainwashes him against Yuma and all his friends. Astral tries to resist, but falls prey to Dark Mist's manipulations. Meanwhile, Yuma and co. are freaking out over Astral's disappearance. What will they do once they learn of Astral's "predicament"? And how will they get him back?
1. Chapter 1

**Matarra: Writing this one on the request of my Fanfiction friend Ryu-Ran 2200. I am going to have so much fun with this...**

 **Misael: PLEASE tell me I'm not in this!**

 **Matarra: Okay, you're totally not in this.**

 **Misael: Are you lying?**

 **Matarra: Yes.**

 **Misael: F*ck you.**

 **Matarra: HEY! You TOLD me to tell you that you weren't in it! You never said it had to be the truth.**

 **Misael: Once again, f*ck you.**

 **M** **atarra: Oh! And this story also features a fully reformed Don Thousand like from 'Redemption'. Because I like that Don Thousand and I want to have him interacting with Dark Mist. Also I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal, like usual. *rubs piggy-bank* Soon though... soon...**

 **Misael: NASCH! I need a gun to commit suicide with if she ever does own the franchise! Or a rope and chair, both work!**

 **Matarra: Baby.**

A pair of heterochromic eyes groggily blinked open, then winced against the bright light pointed at his face. "Where...?"

"Oh, flashlight! You're awake." Astral jerked his head towards the horrifyingly familiar voice. He was met with another pair of heterochromic eyes taunting him with cruelty in their depths.

"Dark Mist, where am I?" Astral demanded, cutting to the chase.

"Not one for hellos are you, original?" Dark Mist commented.

"What do you want?!" Astral snapped as he tried to move. Looking down, he noticed the black tentacles holding him to a chair.

"I haven't even answered your first question yet," Dark Mist admonished, "Impatient much?"

Astral seethed at him. "Let me go!"

"And now we're to the demanding stage," Dark Mist sighed, "There we go, took us long enough to get to that unpleasant one. Now if you will move on to the fruitlessly begging and crying stage I can start having fun."

Astral shut his mouth and settled with glaring daggers at the number, who frowned. "What? Nothing to say? Cat got your tongue?" Astral remained silent and Dark Mist heaved a great sigh, "You are just TRYING to ruin my fun, aren't you?" At Astral's continued silent treatment, Dark Mist scowled, "Alright! Alright, you win. I'll explain."

"Thank you," Astral huffed.

Dark Mist smirked ominously, "I wouldn't thank me quite yet."

Astral narrowed his eyes. "Where. Am. I?" he demanded.

Dark Mist spread his arms wide. "Look around you. It shouldn't be too hard to discern what's important."

Astral looked up and around him. He appeared to be in a warehouse of sorts with grey walls and large metal doors that appeared to open to let in a large truck or something else of that nature. A table stood in front of him and an interrogation lamp like he had seen in the magic box was pointed at his face. "I'm on earth, but not with Yuma."

Dark Mist clapped his hands in mock excitement. "Very good, blue-boy! Gold star!" he exclaimed sarcastically

"You kidnapped me," Astral stated.

Dark Mist gasped. "What?! No! Really?"

Astral ignored his sarcastic reaction, "How did you kidnap me?"

Dark Mist rolled his eyes. "I'm a number! Apparently since I am tied to you, I can enter the key whenever the hell I want. Also, I can bring stuff in it too! Like chloroform. Now isn't that something?"

Astral glared at the obnoxious number again. "What do you want?"

"NOW we get to what's important," Dark Mist smirked, "I want..." he paused for dramatic effect then extended one arm and lifted Astral's chin up with one lithe finger. "You." he finished.

Astral's eyes widened. "Um... I am not attracted to you nor will I ever-"

Dark Mist instantly recoiled, floating back quite a few feet. "WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! WHY on Earth, Astral World, or Barian World would that thought cross your mind?!"

"Because that is a classic pick-up line," Astral explained, "I've heard it on soap operas."

Dark Mist blinked. "Oh. I had not considered that. Wow, I need to work on my evil speeches. Or better yet, not plan them in advance. It is said that first instincts are the best, after all."

"You planned this conversation?" Astral asked, slightly distracted.

"I planned an evil speech. That was my opening line." Dark Mist explained, "You know what? Screw the plan, I'm winging it!"

"Are you done being immature?" Astral growled, still furious at the number and a feeling of dread growing in his stomach.

Dark Mist looked slightly annoyed before smiling cruelly again. "Right. Back to my little explanation. You and Yuma have been gigantic pains in my ass for far too long."

"I don't see why you still care," Astral commented, trying to remain calm, "The number war is over. Everything is peaceful."

"And yet you think I don't want to cause chaos and rule the world because...?" Dark Mist asked. At Astral's silence, he scowled, "You know, conversations go both ways."

"Just tell me why you kidnapped me and what you want," Astral demanded.

"So touchy," Dark Mist clicked his tongue, "But fine. As I said, I want to rule everything, cause chaos, make everyone bow down to me, etc. But I know you and Yuma would always stop me as you have every. Single. Goddamn. Time. So I thought, why do and blue flashlight and a stupid hormone-filled teenager keep beating me?"

"Because of our bond of friendship," Astral snarled.

Dark Mist snapped his fingers then pointed finger guns at Astral. "Ding-a-ling-a-ling! That is EXACTLY the same conclusion I came to."

"You will never break our bond," Astral growled, straining against his restraints.

"Um, yeah. I will. That is literally the entire plan," Dark Mist commented.

"You've tried that before when you possessed me." Astral replied.

"Yeah. And I remember how well THAT turned out," Dark Mist rolled his eyes and shuddered. "So then I thought, what was the closest anyone ever got? Answer: Vector when he pretended to be Rei. Why was that? Because he made Yuma more of his friend and less of yours. So then I thought, what if I made you my friend and Yuma's enemy? Then I am on cloud nine!"

"That will never happen," Astral snarled.

"And THAT'S where your wrong, Astral!" Dark Mist smirked, "I've done my research. I know all the techniques for brainwashing. Not to mention Vector forgot to reclaim this," Dark Mist held up a card between two fingers. Rank-up Magic: Barian's Force. Astral visibly paled. He didn't know what effect that card could have on him, but he knew how humans were affected by it.

"I- I won't fall prey to your mind-games," Astral replied.

"You don't sound too sure about that," Dark Mist smirked, "As well you shouldn't."

"Let me go!" Astral struggled frantically, "I won't turn my back on Yuma and I will NEVER join you!"

Dark Mist laughed. "Don't be silly, of course you will." Astral's bonds tightened and a few tentacles wrapped around his head, forcing him to stare straight ahead. Dark Mist held the card in front of Astral's face and it started to glow red. "Now, let's begin shall we? Dark Mist is a friend. I hate Yuma, Dark Mist is a friend..."

…... (^0^) ...

"Shark!" Yuma yelled.

Nasch sighed, "What is it Yuma?"

"Have you seen Astral? He wasn't in the key when I woke up," Yuma complained.

"Haven't seen him," Nasch replied, "Ask Kite or Vetrix or Tori."

"I have!" Yuma exclaimed.

Nasch blinked, "None of them saw him?"

"Nope! I asked Tori, Bronk, Flip, Caswell, Kathy, Trey, Quattro, Quinton, Vetrix, Kari, Dr. Faker, Hart, Kite, Alit, Gilag, Merag, Misael, Dumon, Jinlong, Ponta and Mach! None of them have seen him!" Yuma sounded worried and Nasch's expression mirrored that sentiment.

"In that case, we might have a problem," Nasch muttered, "Did you ask Vector?" Yuma shook his head so Nasch took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs, " _ **VECTOR!**_ "

A moment later, Vector teleported next to the irate violet-haired barian king, closely followed by a certain blond-and-red-haired patron who had become reformed after the war was over. "What did I do now?" Vector complained, "Seriously, I can think of twenty different things you'd yell at me about."

"Where's Astral?" Nasch asked.

"What? Isn't he with Yuma?" Don Thousand asked. Both Yuma and Nasch shook their heads. "Have you asked anyone else?"

"Yeah, Yuma's asked almost literally everyone we know," Nasch replied.

"Have you called my brother yet?" Don asked. Nasch looked at Yuma, who shook his head. "There you go. Astral probably went to Astral World."

"You think so?" Yuma perked up.

"Yeah, I'll call Eli just to make sure," Don Thousand offered. He pulled out a cellphone and dialed in a number. "Hey, order-freak." He paused, "Yes, I have a purpose for my call. Listen, I was wondering if you could put Astral on." He paused again for a long time, "What do you mean he's not there?!" Nasch, Yuma, and Vector shared a worried look, "No, he's not here! Yuma's apparently been asking around all day." He paused, then pulled the phone away from his ear. "He hung up-" he started before a blue overlay network opened. "Oh, that's why." A moment later, another blond patron stepped out, looking worried.

"What do you mean Astral hasn't been seen all day?!" Eliphas demanded, adjusting his square glasses. Don Thousand snorted and Eliphas glared at him, "Why do you still find it funny that I need glasses in human form?!" Don said nothing but simply smirked. "Anyway, where is Astral?"

"We HOPED he was with you," Don Thousand said.

"Well, he's not!" Eliphas exclaimed, agitated.

"Okay, let's focus on old enemies," Nasch reasoned, "Because I think this just crossed a line from 'let's be worried' to 'let's assume the worst'."

"I've got the fearsome four under control. If they messed with Astral, they know what I would do to them," Vector explained.

"And Dr. Faker, Vetrix, all of the emperors, and Don Thousand here are our friends now!" Yuma added.

"Okay, who does that leave?" Nasch asked.

Vector hissed through his teeth, "Is Dark Mist accounted for?"

Nasch and Yuma looked at each other in alarm and Don put his face into his hand and sighed heavily, shaking his head. Eliphas looked confused. "Who exactly is Dark Mist?"

"He's one of Astral's numbers, technically my and Astral's son even though it weirds me out to think I have a kid, and your nephew and grandson since you're basically Astral's dad," Don Thousand explained. At Eliphas' look, he hastened to add, "It's a lot less incestuous than it sounds."

"It better be," Eliphas warned.

Don coughed awkwardly and his face turned slightly red. "Anyway, he takes after me. As in, he takes after me when I was "destroy everything in the multiverse then kill some more"."

"Has he ever kidnapped Astral before?" Eliphas demanded.

"He's possessed him and tried to kill him, does that count?" Yuma asked.

"That counts," Eliphas hissed through his teeth, "Now that I know Astral's been kidnapped, I'm going to look for him. I can't waste a second."

"Hold up!" Don Thousand called, "You should take Yuma with you. Both of you are more attuned to Astral's energy than Dark Mist's. Vector and I can look for Dark Mist."

Nasch nodded his acceptance of the plan. "I'll rally the other emperors and everyone else. Heartland will be turned upside down." Yuma bit his lip and Eliphas had a worried look on his face. Both of them feared for the blue astral being's safety and had wondered what the number had in mind for their friend.

…. (^0^) ...

"Now, what is Yuma?" Dark Mist prompted.

"Yuma... is... an... AAUGH!" Astral yelped and shook his head. "Yuma's my friend! He's my best friend! YOU'RE the enemy!"

Dark Mist scowled. "It's been ten hours! Give up already!"

"Never!" Astral panted, trying to clear his mind of the brainwashing. "You've never had a friend! You have no idea the lengths I would go to for Yuma!"

Dark Mist crossed his arms. "I'm surprised you've held up this long. Whatever, I didn't want to do this since when you finally do come around, you'd be damaged goods, but you leave me no choice." Dark Mist floated over to a corner of the room then came back with a doctor's bag in one hand and a needle in the other. "Just relax, Dr. Mist is in the house," Dark Mist smirked.

Astral eyed the needle with trepidation. "What is that?"

"Nothing you need to know about. It's just something to help you relax." Dark Mist's smirk told Astral that whatever was in that syringe, there was nothing relaxing about it. "Just a smidgeon of this and a few of these when you misbehave," Dark Mist pulled out a hammer and some long nails out of the bag and his smirk grew wider. Astral's eyes went wide and he began to struggle frantically. Dark Mist floated next to Astral and jammed the needle into his skin. Astral was slightly surprised it actually made contact but he had expected Dark Mist to have somehow taken care of that snafu.

As Dark Mist injected the liquid into Astral, the heterochromic astral being struggled and yelled, "No! STOP! YUMA! YUMA, HELP! NASCH! ELIPHAS! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP!" Astral began to see many colors flash across his vision and his head flopped limply to his side. "Yuma... Eliphas... please help..." Astral begged before he stopped knowing which was up and which way was down.

"Let's try again, Yuma is the enemy. And Eliphas... you don't know who Eliphas is because I sure as hell don't."

"Yuma... is an... enemy. Who... is... Eliphas?" Astral muttered, knowing what he was saying was wrong in the back of his mind.

"Yuma is the enemy," Dark Mist repeated.

"Yuma's... my friend," Astral murmured, fighting for control.

Dark Mist set the tip of a nail against Astral's arm, then slammed the hammer on the end of the nail, burrowing it into his arm. Astral screamed in agony, trying to think about Yuma, but failing to due to the drugs in his system.

"Repeat after me: Dark Mist is a friend."

"Dark Mist... is... a... friend..."

A smirk graced the number's face. "Excellent."


	2. Chapter 2

"DARK MIST! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Alit yelled.

"Oh yes, because the darkness spirit who kidnapped an astral being is totally going to just call out "Here I am!" if you call him," Misael drawled. He, Alit, and Gilag had joined up with Don Thousand and Vector in the search for Astral. Needless to say, things weren't going well.

"Knock it off, you two," Don Thousand called back listlessly.

Vector sighed, "We've been searching for almost six hours. It's dark out now."

Don ran his fingers through his long hair. "This sucks."

"Congratulations, you have accurately described the situation to a 'T'," Misael snarked, but it sounded forced and lifeless. He, like the others, was dead tired.

"Should we call it a night?" Gilag asked.

Don Thousand bit his lip and looked over at the four emperors. There were bags forming under their eyes and he sighed. He hated doing this, especially because Astral had extended his hand in friendship to Don even after all he had done, but these four were HIS emperors. Their well-being was a factor in this too. Besides, it wouldn't do any good to keep searching in the dark. "Okay, we'll try again in the morning bright and early."

"I hope he's alright," Alit worried.

"So am I," Don replied, "You guys go to the BARian, I'll find Eliphas. Knowing him, he'll keep searching all night unless we drag him to bed." With that, Don Thousand teleported away. He arrived behind Yuma, Eliphas, Nasch, Merag, and Dumon. "Hey."

The group turned around. "I'm assuming you're finally calling it a night?" Dumon asked.

"It's too late to find anything now. We're going to try again in the morning," Don explained.

"That's probably a good idea," Merag agreed.

"But Astral-!" Yuma protested.

"We won't do Astral any good if we pass out in the middle of looking for him," Nasch stated.

Yuma looked down and tears welled in his eyes. "Astral..."

"We'll search tomorrow, Yuma," Nasch soothed, "Come on, I'll take you home." He grabbed Yuma's hand and teleported away with Merag and Dumon teleporting to the BARian a second later.

Eliphas stayed behind, not saying anything and looking up at the sky. Don Thousand took a step forward and put a hand on Eliphas' shoulder. "Come on, Eli. You can sleep on earth if it makes you feel any better, but you do need to sleep."

"I'm not abandoning Astral, Donny," Eliphas murmured, "I'm not going to give up on him. I can't abandon anyone else I love to suffer through hell." The 'like I did to you' was heavily implied but Don Thousand, showing great restraint, ignored it.

"You can't do him any good by exhausting yourself," Don Thousand reasoned.

"Donny, he was formed using part of my DNA. He is in all sense my son. I can't rest knowing he's in danger," Eliphas pleaded.

"Eliphas, you can't do anything. You need to sleep so you can figure out how to find him," Don Thousand explained. At Eliphas' continued silence, "Look, you can either get some sleep, or I can call Ena and have her make you fall asleep via blunt object."

Eliphas' eyes widened, "You wouldn't."

"Yeah, I would," Don Thousand bluffed. He would never sic Ena on anyone, not even when he was evil and a freaking lunatic.

Eliphas sighed, "You win."

Don took Eliphas' hand. "Come on, let's get some rest. You can sleep on the air mattress at the BARian and wake up bright and early to look for Astral."

"Donny?"

"Yeah?" Don Thousand asked.

"Do- do you think if I give up searching tonight and something bad's happening to Astral, if he'll ever forgive me?" Eliphas asked quietly.

Don cuffed Eliphas over the head. "Are you for real? Astral wouldn't expect you to exhaust yourself in a fruitless search in the dark! If you passed out on the sidewalk or, God forbid, in the middle of the road, how do you think Astral would feel about that?! Especially since it would do nothing to help him!"

Eliphas sighed and looked upward again. "Donny, what if he's screaming for me somewhere? What if he's asking for me?! I'm his father!"

"But what can you do?" Don asked rhetorically, "Nothing. If you exhaust yourself, you'll only hurt the search for Astral rather than help."

Eliphas nodded, "Alright, Donny. I'm just..." Eliphas shivered and put his hands over his mouth, prompting Don Thousand to pull his older brother into a hug.

"It's alright, Eli. It will be okay. Now let's get some rest."

With a nod from the astral patron, Eliphas and Don Thousand teleported away, with Eliphas frantically begging for Astral to be okay.

... (^0^) ...

Astral screamed out in pain. He shuddered and looked at his arm, which was bleeding whitish-blue blood. After hours and hours of "convincing", he was extremely confused. He had no idea anymore if Dark Mist was a friend or an enemy. At this point, his mind was certain Dark Mist was a friend, but common sense told him that friends didn't torture friends. As for Yuma... Astral's heart and mind were conflicted. His mind told him Yuma was his worst enemy, but his heart said that Yuma was near and dear to him. As for this Eliphas Dark Mist kept mentioning... Astral couldn't remember that person at all. It was... disturbing. He knew one thing for certain: Dark Mist was a liar and was brainwashing him. Astral had to fight to rely on what his heart and soul said and reject what Dark Mist told him.

"Now, come ON Astral!" Dark Mist clicked his tongue, "You have to be at least partially thinking of me as a friend."

"I... I know that's wrong," Astral panted, "Give me my mind back! I don't know which way is up anymore!"

"Oh, look. I'm playing the world's tiniest violin," Dark Mist snickered, obviously enjoying Astral's misery.

"I want my mind back," Astral repeated, "I want to know the truth about my and Yuma's relationship and I want to know who Eliphas is!"

"For Yuma, I've told you that you're enemies. Isn't that enough?" Astral remained silent and glared at Dark Mist. "As for Eliphas, I don't know who that is myself, so I don't think you, as my friend, need to know that either, right?"

Astral's first instinct was to agree, but he fought it back. "No... I want to remember who he is! Who is he?!"

"Relax, Astral. You don't need to get worked up," Dark Mist soothed, "Everything is alright."

"No! It's not! What did you do to me?! Let me go!" Astral yelled.

"Sounds like someone needs more happy-time drugs," Dark Mist sang cruelly, picking up a needle full of liquid.

"NO! Let me go! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Astral screamed, terrified. He needed time! Time to think things through! Time to remember Eliphas! Time to compare Dark Mist and Yuma!

His mind swam as Dark Mist injected the drugs into his system. "NO! YUMA! ELIPHAS! HELP ME! I DON'T CARE IF I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, ELIPHAS! I DON'T CARE IF YOU MAY BE MY ENEMY, YUMA! PLEASE! HELP ME!"

"Calm down, Astral. Here, let's go over things again. Yuma is evil. Yuma is an enemy. Yuma is bad. Dark Mist is good. Dark Mist is a friend. Dark Mist is your best friend," Dark Mist repeated mechanically. Astral's eyes swam with tears as bright colors and butterflies flickered across his vision. No...

…. (^0^) ...

Eliphas was quiet as he slumped on Yuma's couch. Another day of searching down the drain, with no results. Don Thousand was sitting at the dinner table, as Yuma had invited him and Eliphas to dinner. Only Don Thousand had ability to stomach anything, though. "Eli," Don commented sadly, "You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Eliphas muttered.

"I let you miss lunch, you're not allowed to miss dinner," Don Thousand said sternly.

"Anything I eat will just come right back up," Eliphas muttered sullenly.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Don Thousand deadpanned, "If you die of starvation, you can't help-"

"I CAN'T HELP HIM ANYWAY, APPARENTLY!" Eliphas shouted. A tense silence followed. "I can't help my own son when he's in trouble or, hell, may be in pain!"

"Eliphas, calm down," Don Thousand soothed, "We'll save Astral. We'll find him, and we'll save him, one way or another."

Eliphas sank to the floor and buried his face in his hands. "Donny, I'm the worst parent ever."

"Don't say that!" Don Thousand admonished, "Just because your sort-of kid got kidnapped and may be in serious trouble, it doesn't mean its your fault! I mean, it's MY sort-of kid that's probably took him! If you think you're a terrible excuse for a parent, look at me! You'll feel much better by comparison."

Eliphas stood up shakily then collapsed back on the couch. "Where could Astral be...?"

"I'm sure he's not fine," Don Thousand sighed.

"Aren't you supposed to say "I'm sure he's fine"?" Eliphas asked.

"Do you want me to lie to you?" Don asked rhetorically.

Eliphas sighed heavily and slumped. "This is hopeless. We're literally waiting to for Dark Mist to come to us and tell us what he did to Astral! When I get my hands on that little shit-" Eliphas made a strangling motion with his hands.

"You do know you're talking about your nephew/grandson, right?" Kari commented. Eliphas gave his girlfriend a look. "Right, stupid question."

Eliphas sighed and ran his fingers through his long hair. "I HATE feeling helpless!"

"This is how I feel whenever my stupid brother puts his life in danger, which is every other week," Kari deadpanned. At Eliphas' expression, she stood up and sat down next to him. "Look, I know things will work out in the end."

"What makes you say that?" Eliphas whispered in a choked voice.

"Because Astral has bailed Yuma out of hell, Yuma has bailed Astral out of hell, they've bailed each other out of hell when they're both in hell, Yuma has bailed himself out of hell, Astral has bailed himself out of hell, their friends have bailed them out of hell, need I go on?" Kari rattled off, raising an eyebrow.

"But all of those were close calls, what if-"

"Nope," Kari interrupted. "You can't worry. Just prepare for the worst, accept that if you work hard things will be okay, and get ready to beat that little shit's brains out!"

Eliphas looked over at her. "It's little things like this that remind me why I'm going steady with you."

"It's also little things like this that remind you why you shouldn't break my heart," Kari replied, half-joking. "I'm worried too, though, remember? Astral's my little brother's best friend AND my boyfriend's son. Once I get my hands on that piece of horse shit, I will strangle him until his body goes cold and limp."

Eliphas looked slightly disturbed but mostly proud. "Thanks."

Kari leaned over and kissed Eliphas. "Relax. You need to be prepared to break that SOB's kneecaps."

"Does a number even have kneecaps?" Yuma wondered.

"Hey Yuma? I think we had a discussion about timing before," Don Thousand commented.

"Hey! I'm worried about Astral too!" Yuma cried.

"I didn't say you weren't, but Eliphas is also on edge. Changing the topic is not the best idea right now, amazingly enough," Don Thousand replied.

Yuma nodded and looked down at his untouched plate. "I'll get Astral back. I don't care what I have to do."

Don Thousand nodded. "Amen to that. I owe him a few, plus he's my nephew AND I count him as a friend."

"A few?" Kazuma asked.

Don started to count on his fingers. "He stopped me multiple times from doing something I would've regretted and would've hurt so, so many people. He helped formulate a plan to get my mind and life back on track. Then he offered to be my friend after all the history between us when he really had no reason to be anything other than hateful and cold towards me. I owe him so much, and I'll attack anyone who messes with him. Even my own kid, who I haven't actually met before."

"You probably won't like him," Yuma commented.

"The guy just kidnapped my nephew, who I have met and like a lot. No, I won't like him," Don Thousand stated. He took a sip of juice and slammed the glass down on the table, wondering what exactly the monster he had created so many years ago had done.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dark Mist?"

"Yes, Astral dearie?"

"Why am I tied up?" Astral asked.

Dark Mist smiled unsettlingly and floated next to Astral. "In a second. First off, who is Yuma?"

Astral's eyes narrowed. "He is my enemy," he stated robotically. "He is evil and I hate him. You know this as well as I do."

Dark Mist giggled and clapped. "And who am I to you?"

"My best friend and son."

Dark Mist froze and cocked his head. "Was this stuff too strong?" He looked at the syringe in his right hand scrutinizingly.

Astral shook his head and glanced at Dark Mist. "I... don't think I told you. I don't know why I didn't..." he frowned as he thought harder and harder about the subject.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah! Don't think right now!" Dark Mist cried frantically. Astral's new-found reality hadn't become set in stone yet and if the astral being thought about it, he would realize all the inconsistencies his mind hadn't filled the gaps in with yet. "How about you tell me what you meant when you called me your son?"

"You're not an ordinary number."

"Yeah, I got that. Oh, were you talking about that? Because if that is the case, you have a lot of kids," Dark Mist whistled.

"No, those are just pieces of power. Parts of me. You aren't." Astral explained.

"Really?" Dark Mist asked, leaning in to hear this new information.

"You were born from both my own power and an extra power shard of power from my uncle. There was no romantic affiliations of any sort so it's technically not incestuous," Astral informed him, although a part of him wondered why he was telling Dark Mist this.

"Wait, I have a dad?! And you're my mom?!" Dark Mist cried. This was not how he thought things would be going! He wanted the original number on his side and to destroy Yuma! He did not sign up for finding out his "twin" was his mom and he had a father who was also his great uncle. Nope, just nope. Also, on another note, Astral HAD an uncle? Was that the Eliphas he kept mentioning? A small part of him hoped he hadn't made his mom forget about his dad.

"Yes." Astral muttered, suddenly feeling sleepy and confused.

"Just relax, Astral! You'll be okay very soon." Dark Mist said.

"Okay? What is wrong with me? What happened?" Astral asked.

"Don't think, Astral. I'll tell you soon, but you can't think about anything. Trust me." Dark Mist ordered.

Astral nodded. "I trust you... but please tell me something!"

Dark Mist bit his lip and replied, "Yuma did something to you that made you forget about me."

"Yuma... that bastard." Astral muttered, deep within wondering why he hated himself for saying that.

….. (^0^) ...

Eliphas lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Astral was gone and the trail was cold. They had no leads. Their best hope of finding him was a ransom demand from Dark Mist at some point. Astral... his naively curious baby boy was being held captive by some malevolent being of darkness and he could do nothing! NOTHING!

He heard the door creak open followed by knocking. "You're supposed to knock before you enter." Eliphas said dully.

He felt a mixture of exasperation and relief when Don Thousand's voice said, "Hey, bro. How're you feeling? Aside from horrible and in a well of depression because Astral's been kidnapped."

"Unless you have any leads, go away." Eliphas muttered.

Don Thousand ignored the upset patron and sat down next to him on the bed. "Eli, you've been in here doing nothing for ten hours. That is about nine hours to many for you to be doing nothing but mope. Read a book, look through a photo album, talk to someone like Ena or Yuma, do literally anything than this."

"My son is gone." Eliphas said numbly.

"And my kid kidnapped him. I could be stewing in a pit of self-loathing and guilt, and you know how easily I slip into that, but I can't. Because a lead or information could come up at any time and the time I would spend wasting dragging myself out of said pit is too much time wasted that should've been spent getting a move on. Now get out of bed and go on a date with Kari or something." Don ordered.

"I don't want to move. I'm not going to see Astral, therefore I won't get up." Eliphas murmured.

"Astral wouldn't want you to lie around like this." Don Thousand insisted.

"Donny, just go away. I'm not going to get up." Eliphas sighed.

"Okay, if you're sure." Don said slowly.

"Thank you for understanding for once in your life." Eliphas said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just know you brought this on yourself." Don Thousand commented.

Eliphas took a moment to comprehend what Don Thousand had just said. "Don, what are you-"

He never got to finish.

A flood of freezing cold water hit him in the face and drenched his entire torso and the upper part of his legs with icy dihydrogen monoxide. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Eliphas yelled, jumping to his feet.

Don Thousand was holding an empty wooden barrel that was previously filled to the brim with water. How Eliphas didn't hear him come in with it, he had no idea. "I warned you." Don Thousand said simply with a smirk on his face.

"Did you really just dump an entire barrel of water on my head?!" Eliphas demanded.

"You tell me, you're the one soaking wet." Don said, shrugging.

"Don, because you're my brother and because we're still trying to repair our relationship, I'm going to tell you one thing I wouldn't take the time to tell anyone else in this situation: run." Eliphas seethed right before he lunged at Don. Don Thousand took off like a bullet out the door with Eliphas in hot pursuit, laughing his head off.

Ena was sitting downstairs, just as worried about Astral's safety and Eliphas' psyche as everyone else. Don Thousand raced by her but she barely batted an eye at his antics. "I'm taking it you got him out of bed with Plan B?"

"Yeah, I'll be dead as soon as I run out of stamina, but it'll be worth it to get him out of Sadville, USA!" Don Thousand yelled back.

Eliphas ran by Ena, in hot pursuit and still dripping wet. "DON THOUSAND GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU UNTIL YOUR BODY GOES LIMP!"

"Yeah, I'm totally going to stop running now!"

"DON THOUSAND!"

"Catch me if you can, Eliphas!"

Ena smiled sadly as she watched the two of them disappear out the door. Eliphas was getting up and moving around finally, thanks to Don's unique tactics. Astral may be gone and in trouble, but wherever he was, Ena knew he wouldn't want his "father" to be moping as much as he was. He was probably missing Eliphas just as much as Eliphas was missing Astral.

….. (^0^) ...

"Dark Mist, you've been using this hypnotism technique for almost an hour. Tell me what's going on. I can suppress any negative feelings about you because I know they're fake. Just tell me what happened to me, Dark Mist." Astral said.

Dark Mist had his back turned to Astral and wickedly smirked. He had gotten over Astral's earth-shattering revelation of their biological relationship and now was just having a feeling of sick joy at having his mother on his side instead of with that idiot Yuma. "Well, I guess. If you're really certain that if you think anything remotely bad about me, you'll suppress it. You'll have to do that for awhile or Yuma's influence will drag you right back to that bad place you were in and you'll go right back to hating me."

"I don't really remember what happened. My mind is so fuzzy." Astral muttered.

"Don't try to. It's just going to reverse all the hard work I went through to get you back to normal." Dark Mist stated. "Trust me."

"I trust you, Dark Mist. You know I do. I promise I won't try to remember anything that's happened recently." Astral said.

"That's good. Now, where to begin?" Dark Mist pretended to think about how to start his tale, something he didn't need to do because he had already formulated his story. "A few months ago, Yuma kidnapped you without provocation. I searched for you nonstop until I eventually gave out. While you were his prisoner, he brainwashed you to hate me and for a few months I couldn't fight Yuma without having to hurt you, which I couldn't do. I eventually managed to subdue you and I dragged you to this warehouse where I knew Yuma couldn't find us. I've been living here, in this dank, mold-infested place trying to dehypnotize you for almost a week now. You're just finally talking sense today." Dark Mist tried to sound sincere and had to try very hard not to smile. If things went right, Astral's mind would eventually alter the memory of him torturing and brainwashing him with Yuma torturing and brainwashing him.

Astral blinked, then immediately quashed his instincts screaming at him that Dark Mist was lying. "I tried to hurt you?"

"Yeah, but I'm okay. And so are you." Dark Mist said. "Now we can take our revenge on Yuma Tsukumo."

"Yes, he needs to pay." Astral agreed readily, feeling deep anger at Yuma.

"Now, can you pretty please tell me about my dad?" Dark Mist asked with unfabricated excitement.

"Oh, of course. I'm still not sure why I didn't tell you sooner. His name is Don Thousand." Astral said.

"Don Thousand? The deity of destruction and patron of Barian World is technically my dad?!" Dark Mist demanded.

"He's no deity but yes, that is him." Astral replied.

Dark Mist was on cloud nine. His dad was a being of pure destruction and chaos! Best. Day. EVER! Of course, there was a fairly high chance Yuma and his stupid as hell friendship talks had gotten to Don Thousand, but there had to be something to his character that Dark Mist liked other than the evil part. Besides, he could always try to figure out how to capture and restrain Don Thousand then brainwash him back to his original destroy-and-kill self.

A thought occurred to him and Dark Mist asked, "Um, one more thing. You said my dad was also your uncle."

"Yes, that is correct." Astral replied.

"So Don Thousand is your uncle?" Dark Mist asked. He was having trouble believing Astral, the original number and Mr. Goody Two-shoes, could be related to someone as awesome and evil as Don Thousand. Because if that was really true, that really would bring genetics into question.

"Yes, my head hurts when I think about how that is and I have bad feelings about you so I can't think about it any more." Astral replied.

"That's okay, I don't want you to start loving Yuma again." Dark Mist said.

Astral snorted derisively. "I'm surprised I could ever have worked with Yuma, even if I was brainwashed. He's an idiot and I don't think I could hate anyone more than I detest him."

"Yeah, it shocked me too." Dark Mist commented, turning away from Astral and smiling wickedly, envisioning the look on Yuma's face when he saw Astral turned against him. That would be precious! He may have to bring a camera along so he could look at the abject horror on Yuma's face over and over again. "Now Astral?"

"Yes, Dark Mist?" Astral asked.

"I'm sorry, but I need to hypnotize you some more. Yuma did a good job on you and I need to make sure you're really fixed." Dark Mist explained with false sincerity.

Astral nodded. "I fully understand. Do what you need to."

"Thank you for understanding. Don't worry, all of this will be over soon. Then, we can get our revenge." Dark Mist said, picking up the Barian's Force card.

"Yes, revenge..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Matarra: So... I may have dropped off the face of the earth.**

 **Misael: No, you didn't.**

 **Matarra: Earth, , same thing. Anyway, sorry, I started working on a book and got caught up in it.**

 **Misael: One you somehow still haven't finished.**

 **Matarra: I'm working on it! Anyway, sorry about being MIA for so long.**

Dark Mist flew back into the warehouse with bagfuls of groceries. For some reason, Astral had asked him for some items and as Dark Mist enjoyed eating when he took a human form, he didn't protest. Besides, Astral adored him now, there was little danger of him running away. Plus he was tied up-

The bags hit the floor as Dark Mist saw the chair empty and his mind filled with rage. It was a trick?! He shouldn't have left Astral alone, and he definitely shouldn't have loosened the restraints when Astral had asked him to. He probably realized there was something wrong and ran away. Now he had to go track him down and-

"Misty, you're back." Dark Mist flew up in the air five feet as he heard the greeting behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Astral standing in a human form behind him.

"Astral! You're still here!" Dark Mist cried, not thinking.

Astral looked down at the bags of food on the floor then at the empty chair and his eyes widened in understanding. "You thought I wasn't fully healed from my experience yet and went back to Yuma."

"Y- yeah," Dark Mist said, relieved Astral still thought Yuma was an enemy.

"I am sorry for worrying you, Misty," Astral said. "I just wanted to move around and prepare some things."

"Prepare?" Dark Mist asked.

Astral smiled coyly and made a "come hither" gesture. "Come upstairs."

"Oh, and side note, when and why do you have a human form?" Dark Mist demanded.

"I... guess I learned it when I was with Yuma." Astral frowned and looked upset at the thought. "I still remember how to do it, but I wish I could've learned how to with you. Anyway, come along, Misty."

"Stop calling me that," Dark Mist growled.

Astral laughed. "If my memory is correct, you did always hate that nickname."

Dark Mist had to repress a spree of maniacal laughter and replaced it with an excited smile. Astral's mind had already begun to fill in the gaps with false recollections! Yes! Of course, if the barians got a hold of him, they could probably fix Astral, so he had to make sure that didn't happen. "Yep, I'm glad you're remembering things correctly!"

"It's hard, and I don't think I'll be able to remember much for a long time, because of how much hatred I feel towards you whenever I try to recall anything," Astral said. "Anyway, come on, Misty."

"Don't call me that!" Dark Mist said in a very whiny tone, much to his horror and mortification. What was wrong with him?

Astral smiled and bent down, picking up a few of the bags. Dark Mist grabbed the rest and followed Astral upstairs to the loft above the warehouse. Dark Mist had "bought" some furnishings to add to the lie that he had been living here for a while and to keep Astral busy when he consented to letting him roam around, which was sooner than he had previously thought, now. There was a queen bed, a microwave, a fridge, an oven and stove, a table, a couch, TV, and various eating utensils. Astral ran over to the table and spilled the contents of the grocery bags across them, prompting Dark Mist to do likewise.

Dark Mist watched Astral with interest and curiosity as he separated the extra items Dark Mist had bought into one pile and the items he had asked for into another. Finally, Astral shoved Dark Mist's food items off to the side of the table and placed his items in the center. Just as Dark Mist was about to ask what all this was about, Astral turned around and retrieved a large bowl, a baking tray, some measuring cups, and measuring spoons. He reached over and turned on the oven, preheating it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. "There, all set."

"Set for what?" Dark Mist asked.

"I guess we never did this before," Astral said. "I can remember facts without hindrance and I recalled a cookie recipe for peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. I thought we should make some together, as an "I'm sorry for getting brainwashed" present from me to you. And after all, isn't baking things together a mother-son activity?"

Dark Mist's eyes widened. Astral was taking the mother thing pretty seriously! Well, it was expected. Astral did think they were best buds, after all. "Dark Mist?" Astral asked, sounding worried.

"S- sorry, I just didn't think we'd get to this point so fast," Dark Mist said, and his trembling, at the verge of tears, voice was only partially an act.

"I know it's been hard on you, so I'm doing my best to take a leap of blind faith and trust you again, like I did before getting brainwashed. You deserve my trust as you have done nothing wrong," Astral said. Dark Mist felt a pang of something in his chest and it made him uncomfortable, so he looked away from Astral's heterochromic eyes which were almost brimming with love.

"Thanks... um, should I call you Mom or Astral?" Dark Mist asked.

"Whichever you're more comfortable with," Astral replied. "Although, I do like the sound of "Mom."

"Mom, then," Dark Mist decided. His plan was going great! He had a mom now, Astral hated Yuma, Astral was open to plotting revenge against Yuma, Astral trusted him completely, and his dad was Don Thousand! All he had to do was bring his dad over to his side and everything would be perfect!

"Misty. Human form. Now," Astral ordered.

"Why?" Dark Mist asked. "And don't call me Misty!"

"It detracts from the experience if you aren't," Astral said.

"How?" Dark Mist asked like a petulant child.

"Because if you are in your true form you will use your tentacles to measure out everything at once and I have been informed by various sources that the reason you bake cookies instead of buying them is for the experience. Now get into your human form, Misty," Astral ordered.

"Fine, fine," Dark Mist conceded and turned into a human, deciding to humor Astral. A happy Astral was an Astral who didn't question things, after all.

Astral calmly measured out ingredients into the cups and after a moment, Dark Mist helped too, measuring out and putting in what Astral told him to. Once they got to the chocolate chips, Dark Mist reached over a took a handful out of the bag before popping them into his mouth. Astral shot him an admonishing glare. "Dark Mist!"

"What?" Dark Mist asked with his mouth full of chocolate.

"Don't eat the ingredients," Astral ordered. "And do not talk with your mouth full."

"But I love chocolate chips!" Dark Mist whined.

"Just wait, you can eat the leftovers once we're done," Astral said.

"Okay, but these cookies better be really f*cking delicious," Dark Mist said.

"Dark Mist, you are not allowed to swear," Astral commanded in a harsh tone.

"Am I allowed to swear at Yuma?" Dark Mist inquired slowly, testing Astral.

Astral's eyes narrowed and he poured too much flour into the measuring cup. "Of course, using any other adjective to describe him would be a travesty."

Dark Mist grinned and laughed maniacally on the inside. Oh, this was rich! Astral hated Yuma~! Astral hated Yuma~! Oh, he longed to see the look on Yuma's face! Actually, he should probably get on that. "Hey, Astral? After we're done with the cookies, wanna plan some revenge?"

"Revenge with a side of cookies and milk? That does sound like a good time," Astral commented with a smile.

"Yay! Now let's make some cookies!" Dark Mist cheered. Astral leaned over and ruffled his hair. Dark Mist smiled and tried to snag another chocolate chip, but Astral smacked his hand.

As they mixed ingredients, Dark Mist found himself thoroughly enjoying the feeling of having a mother, and the fact it was Astral made this entire thing so much sweeter. Now let's get Don Thousand down here and he'd have a happy family of his own.

…... (^0^) ...

Don Thousand took a sip of wine, while Vector looked at him from across the table. "You're aware that on earth, you have the body of sixteen-year-old, right?"

"Almost seventeen, it's borderline," Don replied.

"Yeah, and both are below drinking age," Vector said.

"You're lecturing me? You and Alit drink more wine than I do," Don Thousand said.

"I'm just saying." Vector shrugged.

"Besides, are you really going to tell me I can't drink after all that's happened?" Don demanded. "My brother's close to being a borderline alcoholic from the stress."

"Is that where you got the wine?" Vector asked.

"He was drinking and I confiscated it," Don Thousand answered. "He's struggling a bit but Ena, Kari, and Yuma are helping. Well, more like Yuma and Eliphas are helping each other."

Vector leaned back and sighed. "Two weeks, huh? I think that's a good time to start getting drunk out of despair."

"Yeah, well guess who's not giving up?" Don Thousand jerked his thumb to himself. "This guy."

"I got that by the all-nighter you pulled last night. Side note, when you stay up all night, I don't feel as rested in the morning. Psychic link and all," Vector said. "I may as well stay up with you if you ever plan to do that again."

"Sorry, Vec," Don Thousand apologized. "Just trying to deduce where Dark Mist could be keeping Astral."

"Yeah, I saw your map. Bunch of red pins all over the place to indicate where we've looked. I think you bought out the convenience store's supply of pins."

"Don't get sarcastic with me," Don warned.

"Hey, Don?" Vector asked. "Do you think Astral's okay?"

"At this point, no," Don confessed. "Remember, Dark Mist was born in a weird way. While he doesn't have any genetic issues with the incest thing, he does resemble his parents strongly. He looks a lot like Astral, but personality-wise he seems to be very similar to me, which is not a good thing but it does give me some insight into his mind. If I wanted to hurt Yuma and Astral, I would do exactly what he did: go after one of them. He wanted Astral because Astral is closer to him, and as he is sane right now and seems to be acting rationally, he probably hasn't killed Astral and doesn't intend to. But I can't say anything more without knowing more of his motivations, as I would do any number of things varying from situation to situation."

"But you said you don't think he's okay," Vector said.

"That's the part I don't know, but I do know it's not good. I'm very creative and if Dark Mist inherited that from me... well, things go down horribly for Astral," Don Thousand explained.

"It'll be okay, Don," Vector promised. "Dark Mist tends to be overconfident, remember?"

"I was slipping in and out of consciousness when I was inside your body, so I can't recall too much," Don Thousand confessed. "But honestly, I want to know more about him."

"Really? Why?" Vector asked.

"Because he's my son," Don replied. "Yeah, I know it borderlines on the definition of "parent", but I feel like it counts. Remember how I was immediately after the number war? You could've given up on me, but you didn't, and look how I turned out."

"You want to give Dark Mist the same chance?" Vector asked.

"I doubt I can do much, if anything, and Astral's safety comes first, but if I'm able, I want to talk to him," Don Thousand replied.

"Your funeral, but Astral is number one, right?" Vector asked.

"Right," Don confirmed. "My nephew's safety comes first of all."


	5. Chapter 5

Dark Mist kicked his feet at the edge of his bed. Over the past week, the moldy old dump of a warehouse had somehow become a cozy home complete with painted walls and new furniture. Astral was completely babying him, now that he thought Dark Mist was his son whom he loved, when in reality only one of those was true. The one complication that was popping up was Astral's growing desire for revenge.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Dark Mist wasn't quite ready for Astral to meet with Yuma. What if he remembered everything as soon as he saw Yuma's face? What if Yuma convinced him of the truth? And if Astral did remember, would he hate Dark Mist as much as he hated Yuma right now? For some reason, Dark Mist didn't feel like he could take that. It was stupid, why did he care if Astral hated him? Sure, it'd mess up his plan, but he could always make a new one. And yet, every time he said that to himself, he imagined Astral glaring at him with utter loathing in his heterochromic eyes and his chest became tight.

"Dark Mist? Is there something wrong?" Astral asked, startling the number.

"Ah! N- nothing," Dark Mist said. At Astral's glare, he added, "Really. You just startled me, that's all."

Astral nodded. "I did sneak up on you didn't I?" he asked rhetorically. He sighed and sat down on the couch next to Dark Mist, looking bored. "It's so idle here, we should be doing something about Yuma."

"In time," Dark Mist said.

"It's logical to strike while Yuma is still reeling from the failure of his plan to brainwash me and keep me under his control, he won't expect it," Astral argued.

"I said not now," Dark Mist said.

"Dark Mist, there is no reason not to-" Astral began.

Dark Mist knew he had to end this line of questioning quickly. "Because I'm afraid I'm going to lose you again!" he cried, adding in a little catch at the end to drive the point home. Astral's eyes widened and Dark Mist knew Astral wasn't going to be bringing up the "revenge" talk again any time soon.

"Misty, I'm so sorry," Astral said, brushing Dark Mist's hair back. "I didn't think about how you were feeling. I was just focused on our goals, I'm sorry I failed to take your emotions into account. We can wait. If you feel like I could relapse, we'll stay here, away from Yuma and his cronies, okay?"

"O- okay," Dark Mist said, adding a little hiccup to his voice as he mentally fist-pumped inside. Perfect.

Astral pulled Dark Mist into a hug and the number immediately stiffened. What was this? Oh, right, one of Astral's hugs. Sure. He'd been getting these a lot lately, due to Astral's motherly love. "Hey, Mom?" Dark Mist asked, to lay on the guilt. "You're not going to leave me again, right?"

"I promise, I'll never leave you alone again," Astral whispered. Dark Mist silently hoped Astral wouldn't break that promise.

Dark Mist quickly pulled away, blushing as foreign feelings bubbled up in him. "I, um, need to go grocery shopping. You know, you made that list for me last night?"

"Oh, right," Astral said. "I will make dinner from what we have, you bring back something for dessert, all right?"

"Yep! See you in a bit!" Dark Mist said with false cheeriness, grabbing a list from the table.

"Be careful, all right?" Astral asked.

"I will," Dark Mist said and raced out the door.

…

Don Thousand sighed as he pushed his shopping cart, mentally cursing the chore list the barians had. Although, he supposed it was the only way anything got done around the BARian. It was just his turn to go grocery shopping, which should be easy if not for the fact that he was shopping for eight people. He glanced over at the rows of cereal and walked along as he pulled each barian's favorite cereal off the shelves and dropped them into the cart.

His cart suddenly stopped as it hit something and Don Thousand stumbled back. He looked up and saw a boy with black hair, darker skin, and heterochromic eyes pushing another shopping cart.

Dark Mist huffed and looked to the side. "Sorry, wasn't watching," he said, sounding quite the opposite of sorry. He tried to go around Don but the patron stuck out his arm and stopped Dark Mist's cart in his tracks.

"Hold up," Don Thousand ordered.

"What?" Dark Mist snapped.

"I'll pay for your groceries if you go grab a bite to eat with me and talk," Don said, trying to keep calm.

"I'm not interested in going on a date with you," Dark Mist snarled.

Don Thousand put his face in one hand. "No, God no! That is… so wrong on so many levels. I just want to talk, that's all."

"Wait, are you saying I'm not good enough for you?" Dark Mist demanded, sounding offended.

Don Thousand just downgraded to pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, that's not why, I- look, just indulge me, okay?"

"And why should I?" Dark Mist asked. "I'm not worried about money."

"Why couldn't I have spawned a kid with slightly less attitude?" Don muttered to himself. Despite this, Dark Mist heard him.

"Wait, what?" Dark Mist asked. "A- are you… Don Thousand?"

"Unless you know another person who shares the same name as me, I'm going to say yes," Don replied.

Dark Mist immediately looked delighted and apprehensive at the same time. "In that case, offer accepted."

Don Thousand was instantly on-guard. This was a little too easy, so obviously the number had some kind of hidden agenda when it came to him. "Alright, good, but don't try to kidnap me like you did to Astral."

"Of course that's what this is about," Dark Mist muttered.

"Have you done anything else of major consequence in the past month?" Don asked, half-way rhetorically.

"Not really," Dark Mist admitted.

"Right… will you tell me about what you did to Astral?" Don asked.

"Sure, if you insist," Dark Mist said. "If you buy me dessert."

"Deal," Don Thousand agreed. "So are you almost done?"

Dark Mist looked at a list. "Um, where are the pop tarts?"

"Down this aisle a ways on the left side. Your left," Don Thousand replied.

"And you know that how?" Dark Mist asked, navigating around Don.

"I have to shop for eight insane aliens on a fairly regular basis," Don Thousand said by way of explanation as he followed Dark Mist.

"Eight?" Dark Mist asked.

"I included myself in the count," Don Thousand said.

"Ah," Dark Mist said, knocking a few boxes of pop tarts into his cart. "Do I want to ask?"

"Probably not," Don admitted. He watched Dark Mist with determined, searching eyes. This was likely the best chance anyone was going to get to find out about Astral's whereabouts and current state. He wanted to help Dark Mist, but that took backseat priority. Now that he met him up close and personal, he realized more than ever before exactly how dangerous Dark Mist was. It wasn't anything he said, just an air about him, how callously he treated the subject of his crime. It reminded Don Thousand very strongly of how he used people back when he had lost it, and it frankly terrified him. He took a deep breath and continued to follow the number who had gained a bounce in his step. Just ask him what he did to Astral and figure out your game plan, he thought to himself. Worry about why he's so receptive to you later. Whatever happened to Astral definitely wasn't good, but it couldn't be that bad, no matter how creative Dark Mist was, right?

….

It was bad, it was so bad. Eliphas was going to freak.

Don Thousand stared at Dark Mist as the number calmly sipped his soda in shock and more than a little fear, brain racing to come up with any plan that would fix this easily but finding none. "So… you used a form of educational brainwashing on him and now he's convinced Yuma and his friends are enemies and you're his friend?" Don said, trying to make sure he had everything straight.

"Yeah, pretty much," Dark Mist said.

"That is…" Don Thousand tried to think of a word of phrase that didn't contain expletives.

"Incredible? Ingenious? Brilliant? Innovative?" Dark Mist suggested.

"Wrong," Don stated. "So very, very, very wrong."

Dark Mist's mouth turned up into a disapproving frown that quickly gave way to a scowl as he crossed his arms. "Right, of course that's your reaction. You jumped on the Yuma hype train, after all. Just like Vector and all the rest. I hoped you hadn't…"

Don Thousand shrugged and poked at his pasta. "It was my own choice and I never exactly 'jumped' on the train, so to speak. More of got on at the station after a while, and even that's not entirely accurate. Yuma's a friend, it's not a 'hype train,' as you called it. That's what friendship is, equal respect and appreciation."

Dark Mist scowled even deeper. "You're even sounding like him."

Don smirked. "I can confidently say I don't use the phrase "kattobingu" on a regular basis, thank you."

Dark Mist snorted and his scowl eased up a little. "But don't you miss it?" Dark Mist asked. "You know, people bowing at your feet? Doing whatever you want to accomplish any goal you might have? Crushing everyone else underfoot?"

"No," Don Thousand said honestly. "Because I was just a jumble of hate, cold planning, and illogical plans. It makes me shudder to think about it, on the good days. On the bad days, I want to throw up if I reference the past in any way."

"Why not?" Dark Mist asked. "All that power you could exercise to its full potential-"

"Wasn't worth it," Don said firmly. "I hurt lots of people very badly."

"Yeah, but-" Dark Mist started.

"We can keep going on this conversation thread all night, my position won't change. Unless you think yours could by my responses, stop asking," Don Thousand said firmly.

"Fine," Dark Mist huffed.

"Now, I doubt you're going to tell me where you're keeping him," Don Thousand said, making it a statement but leaving a question hidden in there.

"You're right about that," Dark Mist confirmed. "I'm also going to teleport around the globe for a while to throw you or any of Yuma's friends off the scent if they try and follow my movements, then get home while making sure you're not able to trace me."

"Then can I ask why you're interested in me?" Don asked.

"Oh, little detail that Astral mentioned," Dark Mist said. "Apparently you're technically my dad? And my uncle?"

"Yeah," Don Thousand said, blushing a little. "That is a little awkward. No incest was involved, technically."

"I hoped that was the case," Dark Mist replied. "Let's just focus on the "dad" part, okay? Okay."

Don Thousand's eyes widened as he got what was going on, even though he had suspected it earlier. He smiled and stared at Dark Mist with heterochromic eyes. "You want a dad?"

"What? No, not exactly," Dark Mist muttered. "I'm just interested in having you as a dad."

"Okay, so want to make a deal?" Don asked.

"What kind of deal?" Dark Mist asked.

"I hang out with you, you give me details and updates on Astral and maybe let me see him on occasion, we can work out the details later," Don Thousand suggested.

"What does hanging out entail?" Dark Mist asked.

"What we did today; going to amusement parks, aquariums, etc.; and really anything else that's not criminal. You pick," Don said.

"So just normal activities?" Dark Mist asked.

"Basically, yes," Don Thousand said.

"But together?" Dark Mist asked. "No one ditching the other?"

"Yes, together," Don confirmed.

Dark Mist grinned. "Deal! One more thing, I'm allowed to try and sway you to my side, right?"

"You… are, on one condition," Don Thousand said.

"Name it," Dark Mist said.

"If and let's face it, when I meet Astral, I get to try and convince him to go back to Yuma," Don Thousand said.

Dark Mist opened his mouth, closed it again, then furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth again, closed it, then said, "Fine. You can try. But no bringing any of your or Yuma's friends."

"Figured that was already a rule, but fine," Dark Mist said. "So we're agreed? We have a deal?"

"We do indeed," Dark Mist confirmed. "When should I look forward to our next visit?"

"How about… Heartland Amusement Park, 9:00 AM, Thursday? I'll skip school," Don Thousand suggested.

"You actually go to school?" Dark Mist asked disparagingly.

"Long story, plus it's fun at times," Don said.

"Wait, you go to high school, right?" Dark Mist asked.

"Yeah?" Don asked, wondering where he was going with this.

"The same place that has a major problem with chemistry incidents that have caused evacuations and the school to close temporarily?" Dark Mist asked.

"Yeah, that's a friend of mine," Don muttered.

"I get why you go now," Dark Mist said in awe.

Don rolled his hand then stuck out his hand. "Shake on it?"

Dark Mist grinned and shook his hand. "Just to make things official." He let go after a few more seconds then leaned back. "This is a sort of contest, isn't it?" he asked. "You versus me. Astral's freedom versus his continued existence in his fabricated world. Just so you know, I intend to win."

"That's fine," Don Thousand said. "So do I."


End file.
